The 2015 Ontario Fishing Regulations have been released by the MNR

[tweedwolfscream]

Yep, same is true for muskie and atlantic salmon on a conservation license in most of the province I believe. There are also individual local waters where certain trout species, or in a few cases walleye, have a 0/0 limit but still have a season. It means C&R only during the open season, don't even target them the rest of the year.

In the case of sturgeon, the reason for the geographic differences is that the Northwestern Ontario and Great Lakes (ie watershed) populations of lake sturgeon are classified as an endangered species, while the Hudson Bay population is not endangered but is still too rare to sustain a harvest. The endangered populations must be protected from all threats, which includes deliberate fishing even if it's C&R, so their season is closed year round throughout the Great Lakes watershed and northwestern Ontario.